In Paris, France, the Louisiana Purchase negotiators settle on a price—80 million francs plus payment of French debts worth about 20 million francs.
Cession of Louisiana (cropped)
Constantino Brumidi, 1875
Architect of the Capitol, https://www.aoc.gov/
Located in the Senate wing of the U.S. Capitol, Brumidi’s fresco shows left to right: François Barbé-Marbois, Robert Livingston, and James Monroe.
From the journal of James Monroe:
We called on Mr. Marbois the 29th. and gave him our project which we read to him & discussed. We proposed to offer 50. millions to France & 20. on acct. of her debt to the citizens of the U States, making 70. in the whole.
On reading that article he declared that he would not proceed in the negotiation on a less sum than 80. Millions, since it would be useless as the Consul had been sufficiently explicit on that point
. . . . .
we agreed to accede to his idea & give 80. millions.[1]Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed. The Writings of James Monroe, Vol IV, 1803–1806 (New York: G. P. Putman’s Sons, 1900), 14; digitized by Google Books and available at archive.org.
Notes
| ↑1 | Stanislaus Murray Hamilton, ed. The Writings of James Monroe, Vol IV, 1803–1806 (New York: G. P. Putman’s Sons, 1900), 14; digitized by Google Books and available at archive.org. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Robert R. Livingston to Thomas Jefferson, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-40-02-0224 accessed 1 June 2022. [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, vol. 40, 4 March–10 July 1803, ed. Barbara B. Oberg. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013, pp. 301–304n.] |
